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UConn’s Karaban Among Prospects Withdrawing From NBA Draft

May 29th, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

After winning a pair of national championships as a starting forward at UConn, Alex Karaban will return to the Huskies for his junior year in search of a third consecutive title, he announced today (via Twitter).

The No. 36 prospect on ESPN’s big board, Karaban had been testing the NBA draft waters but will withdraw his name from the 2024 pool in order to retain his college eligibility. He averaged 13.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 31.4 minutes per game as a redshirt sophomore and has made 38.9% of his three-point attempts across his two college seasons.

Big man Ugonna Onyenso, who spent his first two college seasons at Kentucky, has also opted to withdraw from the NBA draft, agent Daniel Hazan tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link).

Onyenso told Givony last month when he initially declared for the draft that he was “100% focused on the NBA” and wasn’t thinking about “coming back to play college basketball.” However, it appears he changed his mind after getting some feedback from teams during the pre-draft process. The No. 68 player on ESPN’s big board is in the transfer portal and still has to determine where to spend his junior season, Givony notes.

Meanwhile, another player on ESPN’s board (at No. 52), Dayton forward DaRon Holmes II has decided to keep his name in the draft and forgo his final year of college eligibility, as he announced on Instagram.

The Atlantic 10’s Defensive Player of the Year and co-Player of the Year in 2023/24, Holmes averaged 20.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 2.1 blocks in 32.5 minutes per game for the Flyers, posting an impressive shooting line of .544/.386/.713 in 33 games (all starts).

Here are more of today’s draft decisions from early entrants ahead of the NCAA’s withdrawal deadline:

Withdrawing from the draft:

  • Swingman Chibuzo Agbo will transfer from Boise State to USC for his super-senior season (Twitter link via Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports).
  • Northwestern swingman Brooks Barnhizer will return to school for his senior season (Twitter link via Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68).
  • Guard Johnell Davis will transfer from Florida Atlantic to Kansas for his super-senior season (Twitter link via Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN).
  • Guard Garwey Dual will return to school for his sophomore season. He played at Providence last season but is in the transfer portal now (Twitter link via Givony).
  • St. Joseph’s forward Rasheer Fleming will return to school for his junior season (Twitter link via Rothstein).
  • Clemson guard Chase Hunter will return to school for his super-senior season (Instagram link).
  • Forward Arthur Kaluma will return to school for his senior season. He played at Kansas State last season but is in the transfer portal now (Twitter link via Jeff Borzello of ESPN).
  • Forward Baba Miller will transfer from Florida State to Florida Atlantic for his junior season (Twitter link via Givony).
  • Southern Idaho center Shahid Muhammad will return to school for his junior season (Twitter link via Rothstein).
  • UIC swingman Toby Okani will return to school for his super-senior season (Twitter link via Goodman).

Remaining in the draft:

  • Memphis senior forward David Jones will stay in the draft and forgo his remaining NCAA eligibility (Twitter link via Givony).
  • Bowling Green State sophomore guard JZ Zaher will stay in the draft and forgo his remaining NCAA eligibility (Twitter link via Rothstein).
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44 Prospects Invited To G League Elite Camp

May 4th, 2024 at 11:57am CST by Tristan Tucker

Forty-four prospects for the 2024 NBA draft were invited to the NBA’s G League Elite Camp, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Twitter link).

The list of players is as follows:

The field of draft prospects scrimmage for two days in Chicago starting on May 11 ahead of the NBA’s annual draft combine. If players perform well enough, they’re often promoted to the larger combine immediately following the G League Elite Camp. Typically, at least a half dozen players move on.

While the combine usually focuses on the top-ranked players in each draft class, the G League Elite Camp offers opportunity to prospects further down boards who are more likely to go undrafted. Of the 44 names invited to the G League Elite Camp, only 16 rank among ESPN’s top 100 prospects. No prospect ranks higher than No. 48 (Onyenso) on ESPN’s board.

Nine of ESPN’s top 100 prospects have not been invited to Chicago for either event: Armel Traore (France), Zacharie Perrin (France), Andrija Jelavic (Croatia), Yannick Kraag (Netherlands), Tre Mitchell (Kentucky), Ilias Kamardine (France), Dylan Disu (Texas), Riley Minix (Morehead State) and Jonas Aidoo (Tennessee). According to Givony (Twitter link), the NBA might not announce the official list until Monday, so there’s a chance it’s amended.

The G League Elite Camp will give invitees who declared for the draft as early entrants an opportunity to see where they stand ahead of the draft withdrawal deadline on May 29. Not all of the players who participate in this event will remain in the draft pool.

Last year, future NBA players like Hornets forward Leaky Black, Pistons forward Tosan Evbuomwan, Mavericks forward Alex Fudge, Celtics guard Drew Peterson and Nets guard Jaylen Martin all participated in the event. Other recent notable alums of the event include Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado and Clippers guard Terance Mann.

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Florida State’s Baba Miller Among Prospects Testing Draft Waters

March 31st, 2024 at 10:19am CST by Luke Adams

Florida State forward Baba Miller has decided to enter the NCAA transfer portal while also testing the NBA draft waters, a source tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link).

Miller, who was born and raised in Spain, played for Real Madrid in 2021/22 before coming stateside and joining the Seminoles in 2022.

The 6’11” forward was limited to 15 games as a freshman due to a suspension over a $3,000 payment he received to attend a training camp back in 2020, even though his family paid that money back. He was available for his entire sophomore season in 2023/24, averaging 7.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks in 24.8 minutes per game across 33 appearances (32 starts).

Miller is currently the No. 59 prospect on Givony’s draft board at ESPN, so he’s not a lock to be drafted in 2024. The feedback he receives during the pre-draft process could influence his decision on whether to keep his name in the draft and remain in school for his junior year.

The following college players also indicated in recent weeks that they would enter the NCAA transfer portal while testing the NBA draft waters:

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